America, since the beginning, has experienced an overwhelming sense of hope and optimism which has driven its citizens to becoming better not only individually, but also as a whole. This optimism has been derived from hope, and combined with optimism, one finds the American dream. However, dreams are somewhat opinionated and history has taught that one individuals dream could very well be another’s nightmare. Nevertheless, in Foners Voices of Freedom four prominent individuals not only from the United States, but from around the world try to shine light on dreams that are often left in the dark. Yet, at the core of every definition of the American dreams lies a longing for a fair, happy, and fulfilling existence and these four individuals try
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Students for a Democratic Society had seen John F. Kennedy get assassinated, they had seen their friends and family killed in Vietnam, and the members of SDS wanted a candidate who was for the youth, for peace, and most importantly at the time for love. Robert F Kennedy, brother of JFK was this man but alas was also assassinated before he could make a run for the white house. However, before the assassination of RFK America was in Vietnam, a war very unpopular war especially among the youth primarily because of the draft selection process. Nevertheless, Paul Potter was president of SDS in 1965, and using the position tried to convince the people of America that the American dream should not be built upon conquering but coexisting, and living in peace. He displayed his displeasure for Vietnam very clearly when he states “Vietnam, We may say, is a laboratory run by a new breed of gamesmen who approach war as a kind of rational exercise in international power politics.” Potter uses this as a base for why America needs to wake up from the delusion that being in Vietnam is a good necessary evil. He calls for a political revolution; he calls for peace not only for American citizens but also for the people living in Vietnam. He goes on to say that American “consistently puts material values before human values.” Therefore, for a dream of a fair, happy, and fulfilling life, American must stand up to the institutions that bring us to war and create a social movement to redefine the American dream. It can be said that the American dream at this time was to stop the spread of communism, to have the world live in a free-market democratic society, however, like stated above often times one individuals dream is often another’s nightmare. Vietnam, exploitation, of America’s youth, and all the killing in the world would be Potters nightmare. He finally
Students for a Democratic Society had seen John F. Kennedy get assassinated, they had seen their friends and family killed in Vietnam, and the members of SDS wanted a candidate who was for the youth, for peace, and most importantly at the time for love. Robert F Kennedy, brother of JFK was this man but alas was also assassinated before he could make a run for the white house. However, before the assassination of RFK America was in Vietnam, a war very unpopular war especially among the youth primarily because of the draft selection process. Nevertheless, Paul Potter was president of SDS in 1965, and using the position tried to convince the people of America that the American dream should not be built upon conquering but coexisting, and living in peace. He displayed his displeasure for Vietnam very clearly when he states “Vietnam, We may say, is a laboratory run by a new breed of gamesmen who approach war as a kind of rational exercise in international power politics.” Potter uses this as a base for why America needs to wake up from the delusion that being in Vietnam is a good necessary evil. He calls for a political revolution; he calls for peace not only for American citizens but also for the people living in Vietnam. He goes on to say that American “consistently puts material values before human values.” Therefore, for a dream of a fair, happy, and fulfilling life, American must stand up to the institutions that bring us to war and create a social movement to redefine the American dream. It can be said that the American dream at this time was to stop the spread of communism, to have the world live in a free-market democratic society, however, like stated above often times one individuals dream is often another’s nightmare. Vietnam, exploitation, of America’s youth, and all the killing in the world would be Potters nightmare. He finally